The following description is provided to assist the understanding of the reader. None of the information provided is admitted to be prior art.
A unit of data, such as a file or object, includes one or more storage units (e.g., blocks), and can be stored and retrieved from a storage medium. For example, disk drives in storage systems can be divided into logical blocks that are addressed using logical block addresses (LBAs). The disk drives use spinning disks where a read/write head is used to read/write data to/from the drive. It is desirable to store an entire file in a contiguous range of addresses on the spinning disk. For example, the file may be divided into blocks or extents of a fixed size. Each block of the file may be stored in a contiguous section of the spinning disk. The file is then accessed using an offset and length of the file. Other types of storage systems may also be used to store files or objects.
Storage mediums on which files and/or objects are stored may need to be changed to address changes in the files and/or objects that are stored. For example, if a user needs more storage space for files and/or objects, the storage medium's hardware may be expanded to include more memory for the storing of the additional or larger files and/or objects. Storage mediums may also be controlled by software that is subject to updates to keep the storage system running properly.